Hello!
My name is iskanderthegreat, and I'm new to this whole writing business. This story is just something I've been thinking of and started recently, so please excuse any errors or faults in writing. I hope to improve as time passes and more chapters are released, but I can definitely use community response - so please, give a review or 2 about how I can improve!
With that, enjoy the story!
The boy choked as smoke continued to fill the air around him. The shattering of glass and the screams of women and children blasted in his ears as he slugged forward, his Empoleon beside him. All of his senses felt like they were experiencing hell itself, with red and orange expanding as far as the eye can see. CLANG. A large flag emblazoned with a single red R fell to the floor, and was devoured by the voracious flames.
"Use Water Gun!" the boy cried to his trusty partner, and the Empoleon unleashed a high speed stream of water into the room. The flames hissed and spat, and soon a cloud of black and white began to dominate the atmosphere. "Damn it," the boy gritted, "that didn't help me see at all!" In the corner of the boy's vision, however, he saw a shape run towards the exit of the room. "Stop!" he yelled as he recalled his Empoleon and took off, sprinting through blazing corridor and towards the exit. Suddenly, a large force tackled him to the ground, and the boy saw his terrifying assailant. A large man with black gloves, black pants, black mask, and a large black shirt that had the infamous "R" on it, raised his fist as he prepared to beat down on the young child. HISS-TWANG! A leaf suddenly appeared in the middle of the mans chest, brilliant red splattered on its green stem.
"Urghhjng" the man groaned and fell back, and the boy crawled out from underneath the man. He turned around to see several men with their Pokemon surge in, moving rapidly on both sides of the corridor. They grabbed the boy and escorted him out of the building, fast yet surprisingly gentle as they took heed of the boy's injuries. As he was brought to the outside world his vision cleared up, and his eyes took in the blue sky and the green forest around the clearing. He twisted his head to see the once-imposing headquarters of Team Rocket Sinnoh, previously thought to be a simple museum, collapse, its domed room falling into the fiery depths of the hell. His skin continued to crawl with pain and his eyes continued to water as he was carried onto a stretcher at an ambulance nearby. As the sirens droned on, a man walked up to the stretcher. He face was wrinkled and had bags under his eyes, yet he still maintained a perfect posture, and seemed to give off an aura of power and authority. He handed the boy a small badge.
"You earned this," he said as the nurses dragged the stretcher away.
The metallic surface of the badge was cold and hard, yet reassuring. Small and relatively delicate, by itself the object provided nothing in terms of practicality or style – after all, it was just a square with a triangle inscribed into it. This badge, however, represented the pinnacle of every detectives career. It is the aspiration for all detectives within the Interpol.
The Interpol – a transregional force for justice that upholds laws across countries – had grown considerably over the past few years. Waves of brilliant young minds poured into its offices, each one dedicated to the pursuit of order and liberty for the world's cities. Among these recruits there was one boy who stood out the most. Regarded as a prodigy among the organization, he singlehandedly took down Team Rocket's presence in Sinnoh. Rising to fame among Interpol's ranks, in a span of 2 years he rose from recruit, to lieutenant, to captain, and finally to his current rank – Special Agent. His whole life he fought to gain the strength needed to eradicate crime from Sinnoh, his home region. And finally, that day that come.
"Atten-tion!" the marshal barked out, the entire room rising into place as the boy walked down the aisle. The badge bounced softly in his coat pocket. His mentor, stood at the end of the isle – a tall, middle-aged man with a wrinkled face and a bushy, blonde mustache. His expression, normally serious, now had a more kind and proud appearance, with his grey eyes holding nothing but pride for his former pupil. The people of the room also shared the same feelings, the bland, steel walls and the relative lack of decorum doing nothing to diminish their moods. They all knew of how hard the boy worked over the past 5 years. They also knew of the boy's prodigious talent – at the age of 16, he was the youngest person to ever become a Special Agent. The boy finaly reached his mentor atop the wooden platform, the master and the student meeting once again.
"Lucas," Marcus said, "you have come a long way. It seems as though yesterday you were dropped off at my cottage to begin your apprenticeship. But now, your time has come. From here on out, you're gonna take on the world by yourself. Are you prepared for this?"
Lucas nodded.
"If that's the case, my fellow Interpol colleagues, I present to you – Special Agent Kouki!"
The atmosphere outside of the promotion room was drastically more grand and festive, with tall overreaching arches, bronze statues dotting the room, and the massive globe that was in the middle of it all. The Interpol headquarters was decorated with streamers and lights as the party went on; drinks laid out by the hundreds at the bar, people milled around as they chatted about their lives, and the office's pet dogs barking and playing with the crowd. Lucas smiled when he saw the Director moving towards him through the crowd.
"Hello, Mr. Director," Lucas greeted formally, "I must say I'm surprised to see you here."
"Nonsense my lad, this was all thrown for you!" The director laughed heartily.
"Geez, all of this?" Lucas asked with astonishment, "It feels like I'm in the Grand Central Station down at Kalos."
"Nothing but the best. I do apologize however, I'm not here for the party." The director handed Lucas a leather case. Lucas flinched at its weight. The smooth cover of the Brooks&Tweed case, which usually go for around 2000 Poké, made Lucas understand the importance of what was in the case. Underneath the leather was nearly half an inch of solid titanium, and below the mahogany wood handle was a 10 digit lock code. "There's a new case that popped up, an SS rank. Highly classified. Even the SAD don't know about this. We're not quite sure what to make of it, but I have the feeling this one's gonna be big. After this, begin to take a look at it."
Lucas nodded. "Alright, I'll start when I get home. Why didn't we start on this before, if you thought it was gonna be big?"
"We sent agents to shadow the subject of the case. For nearly a year all records came up clean - transactions, dealings, imports. Everything was clean. However, about 4 months ago we got a tip. A reputable source told us that there was gonna be a big trade-off at Castelia. Something that the subject did not want on the books. We sent Agent Carter in, to see what the hell was going on there."
Lucas leaned in. "And?"
"He vanished. Him, his gear, his transport, his intel - all of it went up in smoke. We immediately sent in a strike team to try and find him, but by the time they got there the site was empty. After Carter disappeared, we sent in 2 more Spec. Agents to Sinnoh and Unova, to try and find the leaders of the company and gain more intel as to what was going on. Apparently, the company still remains clean. There isn't any sign that they've been conducting illegal activities, like smuggling or kidnapping."
Lucas cocked his head, "Nothing? Hard to believe you'd go this far for nothing."
The director nodded. "The tip that we received - the one that made us send Carter in - it talked about legendary pokemon. Last week our agent at Verity reported vehicles showing up at the lake, with sonar and cameras being deployed. Apparently the subject's logo was on the equipment. Minutes later, the organization released a press release claiming to study the ecosystem of these lakes."
"But you think they aren't?"
"With good reason. The subject's been acquiring more and more expensive and rare metals. Radioactive uranium, large quantities of rare earth metals. But the biggest source of suspicion was the purchase of nearly 200 kilos of Red metal - the one that absorbs energy. These days companies use it for reactor usage, but this metal can easily be modified to absorb energy emitted by Pokemon. All these activities make me and the rest of the Interpol heads suspicious. A tip-off concerning legendary pokemon? Surveillance equipment at legendary lakes? All of a sudden, purchasing high-value metals?"
Lucas shook his head. "But you already have agents on the field. Why send me in?"
"We need someone new. Both Kate and Zara, the agents we sent in, reported that they were being shadowed. The same men would appear at areas where they were active, and so we think they're compromised. Plus, we could use someone relatively young to go in - to try and blend in with the crowd." The director suddenly looked down at his watch. "Damn it! I forgot about the board meeting. Sorry Lucas, this is where I leave. Good luck with the case!"
"Thanks director." Lucas bid farewell as the Director took off, and immediately began to move towards the exit. As much as he would love to see his fellow Captain Ryos attempt to do the robot after 4 shots of vodka, Lucas knew that if the director himself thought the case was important, it was imperative to look at it quickly. Plus, the case seemed extremely intriguing - all these figures at play made Lucas excited. He stepped out into the cold winter air. Putting his fingers between his lips, he let out a shrill taxi whistle, the sound spreading through the city. The taxi honked and began to pull up to the curb. "Thanks a bunch," Lucas sighed as he got into the taxi, "Take me down to the Madison apartments."
"Sure thing boss," the taxi driver replied as he gunned down the street. Lucas popped open the suitcase and began to scan the documents.
"Galactic corporations?" he murmured, "What the hell are they doing?"
Alright, that's it for chapter 1. Dawn and Barry will come in the next 2 chapters, and from then I plan to really start the story.
Do you think I should use the Japanese names for them (Kouki, Hikari, and Jun)? Feel free to tell me!